From a broken elbow to metropolitan doubles

Seven months ago, Harrison Ross was picking himself up off the Goulburn track with a broken elbow and the prospect of up to three months on the sidelines, just as his harness racing career was gathering pace. This month, the young Goulburn reinsman has reminded trainers why they were seeking him out, with Harness Racing NSW reporting that he has landed two metropolitan doubles in October.

Among his recent winners was Highview Bonnie (Highview Tommy NZ – Bonny Brown Eyes NZ) at Menangle on Tuesday, October 6. Ross drove the two-year-old filly for trainer Josh Powderly, who races her with C R Powderly. She started at $4.40 and won in a mile rate of 1:55.0.

Ross, known around the stables as Harry, is a former Tasmanian who has developed his craft under the guidance of the Hewitt family at Goulburn. He had 59 wins to his name by March this year, roughly three years after he first started driving.

He came through the NSW Rising Stars series for junior drivers, representing the Riverina in 2023 behind the Mark Rolfe-trained Don Lou. Country tracks have been kind to him too. He counts Young among his regular haunts and has driven four or five doubles there.

The big breakthrough came in January, when he landed his first metropolitan winner at a Saturday night Menangle meeting, driving The Croupier for Luke McCarthy. He had already won three or four races at country meetings held on the Menangle track, but said the metropolitan win meant something different.

“It was so good to get a metro winner,” Ross said.

Weeks later his run was halted. In race 6 at Goulburn, Ross had restrained Beer Money from a wide draw when Watch The Great One, driven by Seaton Grima, paced roughly, lost balance and fell. Ross could not avoid the trouble and was thrown from the gig into the track, breaking his elbow.

The timing was cruel. He had been driving in career-best form and was in demand at both regional and metropolitan meetings. Ross was quick to say he was thankful that Grima and both horses involved had come through relatively unscathed, but he did not hide his disappointment.

“My injury has certainly halted my momentum,” Ross said.

The road back took time, but October’s results have put him firmly back among the winners at the top level in New South Wales. Two metropolitan doubles in the one month is a solid return for any young driver, let alone one who spent part of the year in recovery.

His progress has not gone unnoticed. HRNSW’s The Sprint Lane podcast caught up with him after the second of those doubles. For a driver who arrived from Tasmania, learned his trade around Goulburn and the Riverina and has now ticked off a metropolitan winner, a Rising Stars appearance and a comeback from a serious fall, the next step is building on a strong October.

Harrison Ross is based at Goulburn. He had 59 winners by March this year, including his first metropolitan success on The Croupier in January, and has added two Menangle metropolitan doubles this month.

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by Harnesslink Media